For people who enjoy off-road vehicles, such as dune buggies and four-wheel drive vehicles, and drive them into the wilderness or places far from any gas station, the problem of flat tires can be truly agonizing. This is especially so if a spare tire is not available or if multiple flat tires occur during a single trip.
In an effort to solve this problem, many people equip their vehicles with containers to carry a supply of compressed air. The compressed air supply may be utilized to inflate a flat tire at remote places. Some people carry small air compressors that operate on the cigarette lighter of the vehicle and use it to inflate a flat tire. Of course, conventional hand pumps can also be used.
Hand pumps require a great deal of effort on the part of the user, and both the hand pumps and the samll air compressors take a long time to inflate a tire. The compressed air storage tanks are an unsightly addition to a vehicle.